Underdog
by MissLuxe
Summary: Everyone loves an underdog, and Reese Wilkerson is just that. What happens when one tiny change turns a zero into a hero? And what will Malcolm think? Exploration of character flaws and could-have-beens. Rated T for abuse.
1. Reese

"Seriously, I just got a convection oven, I can whip you up a frittata in ten minutes."

Lois and Hal turned to look at Reese with suspicion.

"A convection oven? I can understand that you might make enough to keep this place, but where on earth did you get the money for a new oven?"

"And this refrigerator is nicer than ours!" Hal added from where he was running his hands over the stainless steel of the fridge's surface.

Reese swallowed. "I can explain-"

The ringing of the telephone cut him off and he lunged for it, desperate for an escape from the suspicious glares of his parents.

"Mrs. Bishop? Yeah? Have you decided whether you want the roast duck or the scallop sashimi? Look lady, there's a waiting list with lots of other people who won't waste my time… You want the roast duck? Yeah, that's what I thought." He started to set the handset back down before changing his mind, bringing the phone back up to his face. "Pleasure doing business with you." He ended the call and turned hesitantly back to his parents.

"What the hell was that about?" Lois demanded.

"Well, you see, I needed some serious cash for the fridge and oven and...other things, so I picked up some catering jobs."

Lois grabbed his ear before relaxing, confusion and surprise replacing her rage.

"That's… actually a good idea, Reese." She stared at him, searching his face, before turning to her husband. "Well Hal, I say we search the place and then get out of Reese's hair."

Hal nodded, turning to Reese. "Reese, we came here to do something. It goes against all of our instincts, and even as I'm about to do it, it doesn't feel right, but, our instincts aren't very good lately, so, here goes: we love you, and we think you might be better off staying here."

"Really?"

"Honest to God, you seem to be doing much better without us. Let's face it, in seventeen years you've spent more days in juvenile court than you have in school. But now, after ten days on your own, you're a functioning member of society," Lois answered. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're proud of you, son."

 **Author's Note: This episode always bothered me because there were so many different ways that he could've gotten the money and so much plot potential. It also annoyed me because, spoiler alert, Reese doesn't end up doing anything culinary after graduating despite the idea that he's an insanely good cook being reinforced in multiple episodes. I hope you liked this story, please leave a review!**

 **Much love, Miss Luxe**


	2. Malcolm

Malcolm couldn't believe it. He _wouldn't_ have believed it, if he wasn't surrounded by the proof; he was currently sitting down at a nice celebratory meal with his family. That in itself was weird; a _nice_ meal? The nicest they got was pizza night at Luigi's. And celebration? Malcolm was the only one with any accomplishments worth celebrating, but even those were pretty much ignored.

Yet here they were, sitting in a restaurant that had cloth napkins and candles and a _valet_ , celebrating the most successful member of their family: Reese. Yes, Reese. If Malcolm wasn't a man of science, he'd have assumed he and his brother had switched lives. But no, he was still a genius and Reese was still a jock who felt the need to threaten him with physical violence. The only difference was that Reese was now a dumb jock who owned and ran a restaurant.

Lois and Hal had been furious when Reese broke the news three days ago. They'd ranted about how he was going to lose all his money because he didn't know the first thing about business until Reese's smirk made Hal hesitate, which made Lois run out of steam.

"Reese, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you understand how much trouble you're in?" Hal had asked.

"But that's what's great, dad; I'm not in _any trouble at all_. See, I've been saving money from catering to take online college classes. Who's got two thumbs and is halfway to culinary and business degrees? This guy!"

The shades of Lois's face had shifted imperceptibly (unless you'd trained herself to notice it like her family had) from full-of-rage red to so-proud-she-might-cry crimson.

"My- my son's in _college_! Oh Reese! How come you didn't say so before? How did you know which school to pick? How did you get in? How…how did… how did you get through so much of those degrees already?" her voice had become slowly more suspicious and she'd pulled back from hugging him.

"Well mom, when it's something I'm interested in then I don't really think of it like learning. I just get on the computer and it's like a video game."

Then he'd invited them to his restaurant, _The Electric Tiger_ , and was currently basking in his parents attention. And to think that all of Reese's good fortune had come from getting kicked out.

"Enjoying your steak, Malcolm?" the idiot-in-question called from the head of the table.

"I've had better." He hadn't.

"Malcolm, quit sulking and tell your brother what a great job he's done with this place," Lois admonished.

"It's alright mom, Malcolm's probably just using his smart brain to find all the wrong things with this place. But I'm not mad; that's actually the reason I want you to be my new manager."

Malcolm rolled his eyes as the rest of his family gasped.

"Don't you guys see what he's doing? He's trying to show me he's better than me. Well guess what, Reese? I'd _never_ work for someone as stupid as you."

With that he ripped off the napkin tucked into his collar and stormed out into the rain, forgetting the car was in the valet lot. He gave the curb a sharp kick, swore, and stalked off in the direction of home.

'Stupid parents, believing everything he says. Stupid brothers, thinking he's cool. Stupid grandma, telling him he's a real man now. Stupid Reese, thinking he's better than me. Stupid stupid stupid. I'll show them how stupid they are. _I'll show them!_ "

 **Author's Note: So, now we're getting a little more into character flaws. There aren't many Malcolm in the Middle fics out there, and those that are don't really focus on Malcolm's flaws. They'll be pretty central to the plot of this fic, as will Reese's especially. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review!**

 **Much love, Miss Luxe**


	3. The Electric Tiger

"Reese, I'm sorry again for Malcolm. I don't know what got into him!" Lois said as she shrugged her coat on.

"Oh, I do. He's a spoiled brat!" Hal huffed beside her. "If he thinks he's going to get by with behavior like that, he's got another thing coming to him!"

"It's okay, just wait 'till he sees how much money he could make. Well, thanks for coming anyways. Goodnight!"

Reese sighed as he shut the door behind them. They'd stayed until past closing, an action that he would've found novel if the restaurant and staff weren't his. Luckily he'd dismissed everyone at regular closing time. Not because he cared about them, of course. He just didn't want his family to undermine his authority.

"Rough night?"

Reese almost jumped out of his skin at the unexpected noise, whirling wildly to find its source.

"Candace! I thought you left already."

The pretty blonde stepped closer, eyeing him with concern.

"Oh Reese, did I scare you? I'm sorry, I just figured I'd finish up the inventory forms so I wouldn't have to do them tomorrow."

Reese really hoped she was telling the truth; he hadn't meant for her to be around when he offered Malcolm her job. Hiring Malcolm would be a smart business move, he knew, but the two had too many problems for that to be his only motivation. Candace was the real problem.

It wasn't that she was a bad manager. In fact, he was sure that few could do the job better. But she was gorgeous, smart, and kind, which meant she was also way out of his league. Not to mention that they'd known each other in high school, so she knew exactly what kind of person he was. Still, he got nervous every time she was around, and it was way too distracting.

"Reese?"

"I'm fine, just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here. Do you have a ride?"

"Oh, I was just going to walk. You know how my dad gets if I take the car anywhere."

Reese did know. He'd spent a few late nights at the restaurant with her cleaning and organizing for the next day, and people tended to share secrets when they were tired. Candace knew all about his trouble with his family and fear that his parents and teachers were right, that he'd never be good enough. He didn't appreciate her knowing his weaknesses, but it couldn't be taken back.

In return he knew about her trouble with her dad, and fear that her mom left because of her. As bad as Reese had it, his dad was always nicer than his mom and both were always around. He couldn't imagine not even having that. Before he knew what he was doing he opened his mouth and-

"It's pouring out, let me give you a ride."

Shit. Shit shit shit shit _shit_. Why did he have to do that? He wanted to go back to his apartment and sleep, not sit uncomfortably in a car with Candace. But the way she was looking at him sent a warm feeling to his chest and, well, maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course! You live on Willard Street, right? That's only a couple over from mine."

That was a lie, but she didn't need to know that. And when he saw her waving goodbye from her window as he drove away, he found it was one lie he didn't regret telling. Not that he regretted any of them.

 **Author's Note: In the original episode, Reese's Apartment, we begin to see Reese mature more because of his responsibility, and I wanted to explore that in this fic. Of course, that's not going to happen over night, so poor Candace might have to nudge him in the right direction a little bit. Thank you so much for reading, please please review!**

 **Much love, Miss Luxe**


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